Levels of urinary isoflavones and lignan polyphenols in Japanese women.

Objectives: High consumption of soybean products has been associated with a reduced risk of hormone-sensitive tumors. Soybean products contain phytoestrogens, such as daidzein, and sesame seeds contain secoisolariciresinol. These compounds are further metabolized to equol, enterodiol, and enterolactone by intestinal bacteria.

Levels and regional trends of persistent organochlorines and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in Asian breast milk demonstrate POPs signatures unique to individual countries.

Human breast milk samples collected in 2007-2008 from four countries, Vietnam (Hanoi), China (Beijing), Korea (Seoul) and Japan (Sendai, Kyoto and Takayama), were analyzed for persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and its metabolites (DDTs), chlordane-related compounds (CHLs), hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Comparing with previous surveys, the present study indicates that the DDTs in breast milk from China and Vietnam had gradually decreased during the last decade, but were still 5-10 times higher than those in other nations. The ratios of p,p'-DDE/p,p'-DDT and o,p'-DDT/p,p'-DDT were higher in Beijing than in the other countries, suggesting that there is less fresh intake of commercial DDT products and a possible exposure to dicofol in China.

Effect of astaxanthin in combination with alpha-tocopherol or ascorbic acid against oxidative damage in diabetic ODS rats.

The present study was performed to investigate the effect of astaxanthin in combination with other antioxidants against oxidative damage in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic Osteogenic Disorder Shionogi (ODS) rats. Diabetic-ODS rats were divided into five groups: control, astaxanthin, ascorbic acid, alpha-tocopherol, and tocotrienol. Each of the four experimental groups was administered a diet containing astaxanthin (0.

Thiosulfate oxidation by a moderately thermophilic hydrogen-oxidizing bacterium, Hydrogenophilus thermoluteolus.

The moderately thermophilic Betaproteobacterium, Hydrogenophilus thermoluteolus, not only oxidizes hydrogen, the principal electron donor for growth, but also sulfur compounds including thiosulfate, a process enabled by sox genes. A periplasmic extract of H. thermoluteolus showed significant thiosulfate oxidation activity.